Faraz Iqbal is a technology professional with more than 20 years of experience in developing and managing software application tools along with delivering each uniquely integrated solution to market. Iqbal is currently the VP of Technology Solutions and Delivery at Naranga, and has been a crucial component to Naranga’s growth since its establishment. Here he shares his insights on why franchises thrive when the right technology is in place.

Q: Describe some of the challenges that your franchise customers face on a daily basis. A: Naranga customers come to us because they are looking for a way to onboard a new franchisee and keep consistent communication with them post on-boarding. The development process can be cumbersome, and they want a way for communication to be transparent and accessible and to ensure that all communication has a record and a conclusion.

Another challenge that our franchise customers face is ensuring brand consistency, especially for multi-location franchises. They are looking for ways to educate franchisees on proper procedures in a secure way.

Finally, our customers need to get franchisees up to speed, quickly and smoothly. It is important when working with franchises to have a solution that is simple and easy to use.

Q: As a franchise grows, what are some of their growing pains? A: As franchise customers grow their business, streamlining processes for the existing franchisees starts to become a business challenge. Once they get a franchisee on board, the goal is to get that franchise to market as quick as possible. They ask how they can manage franchise operations in a systematic way and onboard franchisees with the proper procedures. Some do recognize this early on, but many customers come to us when they are in high growth mode and they need a quick, easy-to-use solution to resolve their pain points.

Q: Why are small to medium-sized businesses attracted to Naranga? A: At Naranga, we work with many different franchises, from small and large; however, typically the small-to-medium sized businesses know they need technology to support their infrastructure before they get too large. Large businesses typically come to us when they have outgrown their technology or technology provider.

Q: Before coming to Naranga, what technologies or systems did franchises use to manage their communications? A: A lot of times, franchises used several solutions cobbled together or used a solution that didn’t provide all that they needed, so they piecemealed a mix of technology and manual executions to try to support their workflow.

Q: Do you feel that technology is important to growing a franchise? Why? A: Technology creates a systematic approach to a franchise’s processes and gives franchises the ability to get a good pulse on the business and to see where there is room for improvement or any calls for action. This helps franchises when they are onboarding a new franchisee or helping to manage a location from afar.

Q: Why do most companies engage Naranga? A: Many companies engage Naranga because we have very elegant solutions that are mobile-centric and are easy to use and the design matches their work flow needs. Since our solutions were born out of a business need for a franchise, we have been able to be flexible in creating a technology that can improve business processes and manage growth and scalability. Our franchise customers love that we can provide them a return on investment.

Q: When franchises look to partner with a third party, what qualities do they look for? A: When franchises look for a solution or partner to help manage business challenges, the most important quality they are looking for is support of services. They are looking for someone who is accessible and can provide information and recommendations on what is going to help their particular business to succeed.

Q: Why do customers choose Naranga over other competitors and technology? What differentiates Naranga and makes the company unique? A: Our solutions provide a simple and intuitive user interface that’s configurable with no hidden fees. We take a mobile-centric approach to our solutions so clients can manage their businesses on the go. Service and support is very key for us as we make sure clients are top-of-mind from the sales process all the way to implementation and beyond.